THE DOORS CLOSED BEHIND ME
“When I initially went into the ashram, the first thing that entered my mind was the fear of living in a strict environment and leaving my family. Perhaps because of a deeper commitment to my soul, which seemed to give me enough courage to follow my heart, I keep them at bay for a little while. It wasn’t until the doors actually closed behind me that all the stuff hit the fan!”
-Rev. Tom Kelly, monk and spiritual seeker for over 40 years
Thank you Contributors!
Clay and I are honored to bring to light our courageous contributors, each of whom have devoted time, energy, and authenticity to the stories within fear.less. We obviously couldn’t create something like this without their insight and wisdom, and the support of people like Howard Zinn, Immaculee Ilibagiza, Platon, Seth Godin, Marshall Goldsmith, and Tom Kelly. (Click here for full list.) They’ve shared personal stories, tools that they’ve used to overcome fear, and lessons we can all take something away from. Everyone has something to give. Our contributors have shown that they’re willing to give above and beyond what’s necessary.
Your life still has meaning
Danielle LaPorte on worst-case scenarios:
“I’m a huge fan of doing worst case scenarios in any kind of visioning or planning because you realize that even if you have to waitress, or sling beer, or live on a credit card, you’re not going to die. You’re still talented, and you still have passion, and your life still has meaning, even without the gigs.”
Danielle’s got perspective. She knows how often we relegate meaning to the bigger, more concrete things in our lives, relatively unaware that they have nothing to do with the real meaning of things. Usually it takes a worst case scenario to realize where meaning comes from in our lives. Hopefully we learn early on to make (and take) meaning from every experience we have.
Hear Danielle drop more useful honesty at WhiteHotTruth.com and check out her story in fear.less.
Get comfortable with fear
“A further sign of health is that we don’t become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it’s time to stop struggling and look directly at what’s threatening us.”
-Pema Chodron
Pema Chodron is a Buddhist American teacher and foremost expert on fearlessness. She’s my go-to person when I feel fear. Her books, Going to the Places that Scare You, The Wisdom of no Escape, and When Things Fall Apart are best-sellers and once you read them, you understand why. Without fail, her wisdom-told as anecdotes and lessons from our fallible human lives-are always a helpful solution to uncertain and anxious times.
Read Pema’s teaching on getting to know fear here.
Howard Zinn Speaks!
Today I had an incredible interview with Professor Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, social activist, and historian. I’ve always highly regarded Zinn’s work, and wanted to interview him on his experiences with fear and his involvement in the Civil Right’s and Anti-War movements.
He told me about the turbulent times he went through in the South, as de-segregation slowly transformed the landscape and how his visibility within the movement increased his chances of arrest. He also gave his perspective on the mis-use of fear tactics by the American government and their injection of fear into society as a means of control and limitation on the American people.
Perhaps the one thing that really hit home was Zinn’s understanding that collectivity reduces fear-doing things together with people and working toward a common goal gives you the courage to move through the fears.
Into his eighties, Zinn continues to speak and lecture around the world, dropping knowledge about what should be inside the history books in our schools.
Want to learn about history and fear? Best listen to someone who’s lived it.
fear.less blog is live!
Welcome to fear.less blog, companion to the fear.less online magazine, set to be released in July 2009.
As part of Seth Godin’s alternative MBA program, we’ve created fear.less, an online magazine on stories of overcoming fear, to send out a relevant and timely message of inspirational people who have conquered their fears.
Fear runs through the underbelly of our society and we’ve all felt it at one point in time (sometimes all the time.) The economy is tanking and people are losing jobs, and there’s a certain amount of fear that’s building within us all.
Despite our news media selling the sensational (fear sells more copies) and our government alerting us that fear is at an all time high (did it just go from yellow to red?) we have the option-and the obligation-to choose.
We can choose to rise above this culture of fear and unlock our own inner strength and be courageous in the face of our fears. This ebook is a testament to those who have done just that.
We’re refining our message, lining up interviews and compiling a great list of contributors, so check back often on this blog for our progress or subscribe via RSS.
Thanks,
Clay and Ishita